1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to boat latches for automatically securing a boat to a trailer, and, more particularly, boat latches which are operable at varying levels between a floating boat and a trailer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is highly desirable to be able to latch a boat to a trailer without the aid of two persons and without the necessity of getting into the water. A number of automatic latches, as typified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,263 issued to R. Whitlock; U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,829 issued to J. D. Anderson; U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,267 issued to N. D. Robinson; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,965 issued to F. A. Lawson, have been devised to meet this need. A common problem to all still remains however, in that in the placement of a boat trailer in the water, the level of the water and therefore the level of the boat to be loaded is not compatible, i.e., in proper alignment with the trailer to allow the eye-ring on the bow of the boat to properly engage the latch device on the trailer. This problem is only exacerbated by the wave action of the water and the pitch of the trailer relative to the water. Damage to the boat and/or the trailer, as well as injury to the bow operator, can readily occur if the boat is powered onto the boat trailer for automatic latching.